November 22, 2024
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Marina owner fined for permit violations

DOVER-FOXCROFT – A Rockwood man will pay a $2,200 penalty for property improvements that violated his permit from the Land Use Regulation Commission.

The commission approved the penalty on Wednesday as part of a settlement agreement with Mark Gilbert of Moosehead Marina. Gilbert also must plant 13 trees and 13 shrubs near the shore of Moose River in Rockwood Strip Township by October.

Gilbert constructed a 100-by-100-foot boat storage building in 1999 and 2000 as authorized in a permit from LURC, but he left an approximately 40-by-150-foot area of unstable soils behind the building, which violated the permit, according to Scott Rollins of the LURC staff.

The area was not permanently stabilized until October 2005 and only after the commission staff made repeated requests for Gilbert to do so, according to Rollins. No sedimentation control measures such as mulch or silt fences were installed before the area was stabilized, as noted in a memorandum reviewed by the commission on Wednesday.

Gilbert also had approval to construct an 8-by-200-foot elevated wooden walkway along the shoreline on hand-installed posts. The permit allowed for the trees and brush within the walkway route to be cut close to the ground, but did not allow the removal of most of the stumps, which would disturb the soil.

Rollins said Gilbert violated the permit by clearing and grading an 8-by-100-foot pathway to the marina docks about five feet from the normal high water mark of Moose River.

Until the trees and shrubs have been maintained for at least five years, Gilbert cannot apply for a new permit to construct a wooden walkway over the graded area. He also cannot sell, lease or transfer the property until the agreement has been complied with. He also must record the terms of the agreement in the Somerset County Registry of Deeds.


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